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Why is not having mars colonies a big problem? There are much bigger
problem like social inequalities, inhumane intensive mass animal farming,
wars, child labour or climate change. Not having visisted mars intensively
yet isn´t a very fitting example.﻿

The speaker is complaining about the masses being unwilling to get stuck
with higher energy bills and higher tax’s…I like democracy,myself…When
the ,time,tech,and resources are to an affordable level America will go to
Mars….﻿

In 1969, Buzz Aldrin’s historical step onto the moon leapt mankind into an
era of technological possibility. The awesome power of technology was to be
used to solve all of our big problems. Fast forward to present day, and
what’s happened? Are mobile apps all we have to show for ourselves?
Journalist Jason Pontin looks closely at the challenges we face to using
technology effectively … for problems that really matter

Because the US government at least is now controlled by the military and
the corporations. There’s the military-industrial complex which now almost
completely controls every US decisions, and presidency relies on donations
from corporations. You need money to become elected, and becoming the
president relies on how much money you can gather from corporations. That
makes the politicians dependent on corporations. Because of that, Obama is
basically a puppet of the military and the corporations.

since you carefully phrased your reference to solar energy using the Earth,
I’m assuming you realize how little it matters when it comes down to
actualy implementation. You can’t transfer electricity from the Gobi
desert. Same with wind.

it’s not so much the creation that bothers me, as it is the harvesting
part. If harvesting could be spread it wouldn’t be a problem, as you point
out. As it is with solar, harvesting will have to be localized, and usage
will be spread. Nuclear energy has so far produced less issues than any
other large scale source, with technology dating back 40 years. Look up IV
gen reactors for example. They could even burn leftover fuel that we bury
now and are safe by design rather than by monitoring

Mr Pontin seems a bit blind to the technological reality. Advances have
been incredible and much more useful than the mostly worthless trips to the
moon. Our rovers on Mars can do much more than the humans were able to do
by going to the moon. The internet has made our species incredibly
powerful. Renewable energy is growing exponentially now that the tech is
right & advances have driven prices down. DNA decoding…the list could go
on forever since it is generated faster than I can type.

All these things he mentions as being not as good as Mars colonies: cell
phones, the internet, Facebook, etc. are far more valuable to most people’s
real lives than having a few dozen people doing science on Mars rather than
on Earth. It may not have the glamour or the drama of a Mars colony, but as
far as enriching human life goes, I know which one I’d pick. And I *love*
astronomy.

I blame capitalism and i CAN define it, although the word is misused here.
RECOGNIZE it is more appropriate. And i HAVE found solutions to it from
people who have asked themselves the same questions as i did.

Interesting talk, it is true there are many hard problems to solve. I think
energy storage and transportation is one of the biggest scientific problems
we have at the moment. Battery tech has gotten better but unlike other
areas of technology that are growing exponentially energy storage solutions
are still growing at a snails pace. There are many places (deserts, ocean
tides, etc) that can generate large amounts of natural energy if only we
could store it efficiently and move it without loss.

I’m not sure how to understand your arguments. So oil and gas affect
climate, and that makes it ok for the alternatives to affect climate as
well? How come? You do realize that right now 100% of that energy is a part
of the current equilibrium? Compare that to how much did CO2 increase.
Right now solar energy accounts for, lets be simple, close to zero of our
energy consumption, so there’s no effect. If you scale it to where solar is
a viable alternative it’s going to be different.

May I ask how does solar power affect climate? CO2 basically acting as a
blanket over the planet, trapping heat within the atmosphere. From my
understanding, currently radiant energy from the rays of the sun hits the
ground, some of it is absorbed and some reflected. This heat then
‘transfers’ the thermal energy into the atmosphere by conduction and
convection. Panels is essentially building a platform over the ground which
does more or less the same thing with the right reflective coat.